Miriam Clinton's thoughtful article, "The Internet Library: rip, mix or burn?" merits attention. Issues addressed include the impact of technology obsolescence on preservation and access. Snippets:
[Brewster] Kahle’s concern, like mine, is that through new Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems – software being used to “copy-protect” CDs and digital files, which, further, is banned from circumvention under present legislation – valuable archives may be lost to future generations. The effects of DRM technology could be disastrous – Brewster Kahle describes the lengths to which he had to go simply to archive a piece of programming made only one decade ago using a now obsolete piece of software. The acceleration in technological developments described by Moore's Law suggests that the DRM systems of today will also very quickly become obsolete, leading to an inability under law to even access materials less than a decade old. This ill-considered lockdown will cause what Alan Cox of Red Hat Software has christened a “digital dark age”. Nothing will remain of the works composed during this century if such technology is used without accountability to the needs of the general public, and to future generations. It will in effect be a great burning of books in the internet Library.
